1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure generally relates to authorization of access to licensed content and, more particularly, to dynamic authorization of access to licensed content using wireless memory devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modern technology has broadened the ways in which content may be distributed. Before the modern era of digital technology most content was distributed in media such as paper, film, television waves, and radio waves. Today, in addition to the aforementioned media, content may now be distributed in computer readable media such as, but not limited to, compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs), hard drives, memory drives such as flash drives, etc.
In the recent past, individuals did not have the equipment for copying/reproducing content and/or for transforming content. Typically, such equipment was too expensive, and if an individual did have the equipment, the quality of the copy/reproduction was not on par with the original. However, the digital age has also made it much easier and cheaper for an individual to copy/reproduce content from one medium to another medium and to transform content from one format to another format, and frequently, the digital copies/reproductions of content and/or transformations of content may be on par with the original content. For example, many individuals transform songs from CDs to MP3 format to play on a device such as a computer or MP3 player without a loss of quality. Similarly, many individuals, without authorization from the owner of content, have copied content from one medium, such as a computer or MP3 player, and, if necessary, transformed the content, and then transferred the content onto a CD or DVD.
Protecting content from unauthorized copying and/or transformation is of major concern to the owners of content. Laws such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act have been enacted to help address those concerns. While the laws provide a deterrent to the unauthorized copying and transformation of content, the laws are not entirely effective. For example, some individuals are still using a Peer-to-Peer network to obtain and distribute content without authorization. Similarly, some individuals are still transferring content, without authorization, onto CDs and DVDs, among other computer readable mediums. Thus, there exists a need for systems and methods that can overcome at least some of the aforementioned drawbacks.